Superior Intelligence (i Q 110 To 120)

Children of this group ordinarily make higher marks and are capable of making
somewhat more rapid progress than the strictly average child. Perhaps most of them
could complete the eight grades in seven years as easily as the average
child does in eight years. They are not usually the best scholars, but
on a scale of excellent, good, fair, poor, and failure they will usually
rank as good, though of course the degree of application is a factor. It
is rare, however, to find a child of this level who is positively
indolent in his school work or who dislikes school. In high school they
are likely to win about the average mark.

Intelligence of 110 to 120 I Q is approximately five times as common
among children of superior social status as among children of inferior
social status; the proportion among the former being about 24 per cent
of all, and among the latter only 5 per cent of all. The group is
made up largely of children of the fairly successful mercantile or
professional classes.

The total number of children between 110 and 120 is almost exactly the
same as the number between 80 and 90; namely, about 15 per cent. The
distance between these two groups (say between 85 and 115) is as great
as the distance between average intelligence and border-line deficiency,
and it would be absurd to suppose that they could be taught to best
advantage in the same classes. As a matter of fact, pupils between
110 and 120 are usually held back to the rate of progress which the
average child can make. They are little encouraged to do their best.